The Way of the World
by Copper's Mama
Summary: Dean/Cas fic. Takes place after Swan Song. Demons attack, leaving Ben motherless, and Dean needing to protect him. Please read and review!
1. Chapter 1

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_A Dean/Castiel fic._

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_Disclaimer: Nope, don't own Supernatural. I'm not that awesome. _

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_A/N: This was number 40 on my list of Dean/Cas fics. _

_This comes from the idea that the demons left on Earth wouldn't just let Dean quit hunting, and live a normal life. _

_I hope you guys like it, I know I'll love writing it. _

_As always, please read and review, I live for feedback! _

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Dean had actually let himself believe that he could live a normal, apple pie life with Lisa. He had let himself believe that he could just walk away from hunting, and everything that went along with it ... that he could have a clean slate.

He had been wrong.

Four months. That's how long his "normal" life had lasted. He'd come home from his nine-to-give, average Joe job at the local garage - take-out in his hands - to find a pair of demons in their home, clutching Lisa's flailing body.

Dean dropped the bags, reacting on instinct. He grabbed the knife - the one he'd never been able to leave home without - out of the back of his pants, throwing it with perfect aim and slicing through one demon's neck.

The other one glared at him with hate before grasping Lisa's head and swiftly jerking it around, effectively snapping her neck.

Dean roared with fury and shock, barrelling at the remaining demon. He caught her around the middle after she'd dropped Lisa's body, ramming her into the china cabinet just outside the kitchen. His mind raced, wondering if they'd killed Ben, too. He pushed the thought out of his mind, raising his fist to crack the demon across the face.

She only smirked in response, shoving Dean back. "Civilian life has made you weak, Winchester."

Dean took the opportunity to haul the knife out of the other one's neck. "We'll see about that. What the hell are you doing here? These people are no threat to you."

She only grinned wider, even though her eyes were dead. "Doesn't matter. You killed our saviour, you deserve a little pain."

Dean flared his nostrils, glaring back at her. "I didn't exactly get off easy on that deal. My brother went down there, too."

She jutted her borrowed chin at him, replying, "Good."

Dean gritted his teeth, tightening his grip on the knife and lunging forward. They battled back and forth for a minute before a voice rang out from upstairs, making them both pause.

"Mom, is Dean back with supper yet?" Ben asked from the upstairs landing.

Dean whipped his head around, grateful that he was still alive, but worried that the demon would still try and get him.

The demon chuckled, glancing at the stairs before looking back at Dean. "I think I'll take my time with him," she taunted.

"You won't get your hands on him," Dean retorted, putting himself between her and the stairs.

She shifted her feet, itching to attack. "Even if you do kill me, Winchester, there are others out there who want you just as dead as I do. There's nowhere you can send him where we won't find him, and we'll take so much pleasure in skinning him alive."

"Mom?" Ben asked, beginning to descend the stairs.

"Ben, don't come down here!" Dean yelled, lunging at the demon.

She held him off for a minute, but Dean's rage and hatred fuelled him, and he caught her in the gut with the knife, twisting it viciously and watching her die. Once her body stopped convulsing in red flashes, Dean removed the knife, wiping it off on his pants and looking at Lisa's body with sadness and guilt on his face.

"Mom?" Ben's voice asked from much closer, and Dean turned to see the eleven-year old at the foot of the steps, staring at the scene before him.

"Ben, don't -" Dean began, but it was too late.

"Mom!" he yelled, running down the stairs and falling next to his dead mother. "Mom, wake up!"

Dean crouched next to him, pulling him into his arms as the tears began to fall. "I'm so sorry, Ben."

The child gripped his shirt, sobbing into Dean's chest.

Thunder clapped around them, and the sounds of rain hitting the roof and the flashes of lightning could not distract either of them from the agony that filled the house.

Dean held the boy tighter, wishing he'd never come to find Lisa, wishing he hadn't gotten her killed. A familiar rushing sound came from behind him, and Dean turned his head slightly to see Castiel standing behind him, his face filled with sympathy and regret.

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_End of chapter one. _

_Short, but this is just the prologue. The rest will be longer. _

_So, what do you guys think so far? _

_Reviews are appreciated, flame if you must, but constructive criticism is much more useful. _

_Until next time ...!_


	2. Chapter 2

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A Dean/Castiel fic.

Chapter Two.

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Disclaimer: See Ch. 1.

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A/N: Well, I'm glad you guys are liking this story so far.

I'm using my brother's laptop right now - the one with the broken right-hand shift key, and the random other keys that don't like to work - but I'll try to muddle through. Good news is, I bought a new laptop, and it is patiently waiting for me to go back home so that I can use it to my heart's content.

Side-note: my cheap brother won't buy the Microsoft office software, so I can't transfer this to Microsoft Word to spell-check. (I usually type in WordPad, I like the way it looks better). Anyway, if you spot any typos that I've missed, don't be shy about letting me know, I'm anal enough to my friends about their spelling.

Alrighty, let's get on with the next chapter, shall we?

I hope you guys like it, I know I'll love writing it!

As always, please read and review, I live for feedback!

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Try explaining to an eleven-year old boy that his dead mother can't have a proper funeral, with her family and friends around to mourn her loss and give him sympathy hugs. Try explaining to an eleven-year old boy that he can't even tell the police what really happened to his mother, because they would assume that Dean had killed her, and would claim Ben as a ward of the state. Try explaining to an eleven-year old boy why an angel of the lord is faking a note in his mother's handwriting, stating that she had taken Ben for an extended vacation with old friends in Hawaii.

There was no acceptable way to explain to a child why his mother's body was being salted and burned. Dean wished more than anything that he could have saved Ben from the pain he was feeling. He wished he could snap his fingers and take it all away. But he couldn't, and he didn't know how else to comfort the child.

Castiel finished disposing of the demon's bodies, joining them where they stood in the backwoods field, gazing at what was left of Lisa's body. He turned his gaze to look at the other two, taking in their emotion-filled faces. Ben was distraught, crying and quivering, so confused and completely derailed. Dean's face held little more composure, exuding guilt and fury and sadness. Castiel turned his head back to the blaze, wishing he'd gotten there sooner, wishing he'd been able to heal her, wishing he'd discovered the plan to kill Lisa Braeden and her son sooner. Dean was always a target of demon assassins, they all knew that, but the other people around him ... they were collateral damage. He felt pity for the boy, but he could also see how lucky he'd been that Dean had come home when he had. Another minute later, and the ending might have been significantly different.

Once the body had burned into nothing, and ash covered the floor of the small field, Dean turned to Ben, looking at him with sad eyes. "Ben, we have to go."

Ben looked up at him with hollow eyes, not entirely there. "Where?"

Dean sighed, glancing at his car. "Somewhere safe."

They arrived at Bobby's place several hours later, Castiel sitting in the backseat, and Ben asleep against the door of the car. Dean didn't want to wake him, wanting him to get as much reprieve from his grief as he could, so he moved around to the passenger-side door and motioned for the angel to hold him up while he opened the door. Dean carefully lifted the boy in his arms, moving as gracefully as he could and trying not to jostle him.

Castiel held open the door with a flick of his wrist, allowing Dean easy entrance. Dean carried him in to the couch, laying him down carefully. Luckily, Ben wasn't too heavy.

Bobby came into the room from the kitchen, regarding the two with sad eyes. "How you holdin' up?" he asked Dean quietly, moving with him out of the living room.

Dean shrugged, not wanting to go there. "We need some sort of plan here, Bobby. The demon said that others would be coming after me, that they'd find Ben, no matter where I send him. I can't let anything happen to him ... I already got his mom killed."

Bobby stepped towards him, eyeing him with a direct stare. "I'm only gonna say this once, so listen up, boy: you did not get Lisa killed. Demons killed her, end of story. You won't do yourself - or that boy out there - any good by blaming yourself."

Dean pursed his lips, wanting to argue, but he knew it was futile. He began pacing around the kitchen, trying to figure out what to do.

"We could try to hide him," Castiel suggested, almost as though he'd read Dean's mind. "Send him somewhere far away."

Dean shook his head, having already considered that. "No, anywhere we send him, they could find him. And I don't trust anyone else to keep him safe," he added.

Everyone in the kitchen grew silent, considering their options. No one wanted to say it, but Castiel took the plunge. "The only way to ensure that demons do not harm him is to do what you've always done, Dean. You would have to return to hunting."

Dean looked at him, knowing he was right. He also knew that by the logic of what he'd said - not trusting anyone else to protect Ben - that he would have to take Ben with him. That was something he never wanted to do ... his dad had done that to him.

Castiel spoke again, once more answering Dean's unspoken question. "If you require assistance in keeping Ben safe, I will make myself available to you."

Dean glanced at him, hoping the angel was saying what he thought he was saying. "You'd come back ... you'd come with us?" he asked slowly.

Castiel nodded. "Things in Heaven are running as smoothly as can be expected. Steps are being taking to restore order; I am not needed there at the moment."

Dean held his gaze, taking a breath before asking, "And what happens if I'm in the middle of a hunt, and they decide you are needed up there?"

A moment passed before Castiel answered honestly, "I will not abandon you, Dean. Or the child."

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Two months later, Dean made his way back to the motel room they were currently inhabiting, limping from the gash in his leg. The werewolf he'd just killed had taken exception to the silver bullets in Dean's gun, and before he could get a straight shot off, it had launched itself forward, scratching and gouging everything it could reach. In this case, it had been Dean's outstretched, left leg.

He'd made it to the motel, knowing he'd need to do some serious stain-removal in his car, but he didn't want Ben to see him like he was, so he punched Castiel's number in his speed dial and asked him to come into the parking lot for a minute.

Castiel appeared next to him a half-second later, glancing down at Dean's leg with worry. "Did he bite you?"

Dean shook his head, leaning on his good leg. "No, just scraped the hell out of my leg." He began to lose his balance and shot his hand out to the nearest place to hold - Castiel's shoulder. He paused for a moment, but when the angel didn't pull away he allowed himself to lean on him more fully. "Any problems while I was out?" Dean wondered.

Castiel shook his head slightly, moving his hand up to Dean's side to steady him. "Everything was fine."

Dean nodded, grateful that Ben hadn't gotten into any trouble. "All right, well, if it's not too much trouble, do you think you could get with the healing, now?"

Castiel complied, bringing his other hand down to place on Dean's leg.

A shiver ran through Dean's body at the sensation, and as he looked steadily at Castiel's eyes he noticed the pain fading until it was completely gone. Dean sagged in response, basking a bit from the respite. "Thanks," he breathed, putting weight back on both legs.

Castiel replied simply, "It was nothing."

Dean pulled back a little, looking at the angel with a slightly parted mouth, but the words were lost as he caught the angel's gaze again. The crystal-blue eyes held so many emotions in them, he didn't know where to start. It was surreal. It was almost as though - for the shortest of moments - he was looking into Castiel's soul. It was bright, and pure, and full of forgiveness and love. It was completely and utterly breathtaking, and if he hadn't already been leaning on the angel, he might have just felt his legs go out from underneath him.

"What's ...?" Dean began, but he couldn't make himself finish the sentence. He wanted to ask what was happening, what was going on, what was he feeling and why ... but he couldn't. For some reason, he couldn't bring himself to break the spell he'd found himself under.

It was broken for him, however, when Ben poked his head out the door to their motel room, his eyes finding them easily. "So, are we ordering in, or can we go get something to eat?"

Dean stepped back from the angel, feeling himself pulled from the haze. He turned his head to look at Ben, answering, "Uh, give me a minute, we'll go out and get something."

Ben nodded, closing the door.

By the time Dean steadied himself and turned back to face the angel, he was gone.

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End of chapter two.

Well, what did you guys think?

Reviews are appreciated, flame if you must, but constructive criticism is much more useful.

Until next time ...!


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